Adhesive tapes in a variety of forms have conventionally been known and used for labels, medical care, cosmetics, decoration, masking, electronic industries, and other various applications. The adhesive tape used for medical care is in a form of a patch preparation such as a poultice, a plaster, an adhesive bandage, and a surgical tape, and usually applied onto a skin, a mucous membrane, or the like.
Such an adhesive tape usually comprises an adhesive tape having a support and an adhesive agent layer provided on one surface of the support, and a release sheet releasably attached to the adhesive agent layer. The adhesive tape, after production, may be cut into an appropriate size and distributed and sold in the state of being individually contained in a package for hygienic and physical protection. In this case, at the time of use thereof, the adhesive agent layer is applied onto a portion for application after tearing the package to remove the adhesive tape therefrom, and release the release sheet to expose the adhesive agent layer.
A problem that often occurs at the time of use is difficulties in releasing the release sheet. Because the release sheet is usually thin and soft, it is difficult to handle, and it may take some time to release the release sheet. In order to improve this point, for example, as disclosed in the following Patent Literatures 1 to 4, a variety of release sheets and adhesive tapes have been developed in which easiness in releasing the release sheet and easiness in applying the adhesive tape are pursued.
Each of these release sheets or adhesive tapes has a structure such that convenience is pursued from the viewpoint of easiness in applying the adhesive tape. It is certainly convenient, but there is no difference in that the adhesive tape maintains the form including the release sheet and the package, and the release sheet and the package are turned into a waste after use.
Then, a pressure-sensitive adhesive tape package described in Patent Literature 5 or Patent Literature 6 has been proposed in the related art. The package is a package in which an adhesive tape is folded into two such that an adhesive agent layer faces outwardly, the two-folded adhesive tape is covered with a release sheet so as to sandwich the adhesive tape inside of the release sheet, and the periphery of the release sheet is sealed. In this configuration, the release sheet functions as a package, and thus the package needed in the related art can be eliminated.
Moreover, to expose only a half of the adhesive agent layer when the front portion of the release sheet is pulled off from the rear portion thereof to open the package, means for temporarily attaching the half located on the front side of the two-folded adhesive tape to the rear portion of the release sheet is provided. Thereby, application to a portion for application is easy because when the package is opened, the adhesive tape folded in two is held by the front portion of the release sheet and the half on the front side of the adhesive agent layer is exposed.